Nicole J. Craft
Nicole J. Craft
Nicole Craft has over 20 years of experience in the public service sector. She is an experienced leader in the field of early childhood development and has worked across the mixed service delivery system overseeing Head Start/Early Head Start programming as well as, the State of Illinois Child Care Assistance Program. She has served in the capacity of direct service during the beginning stages of her career working with pregnant women and young mothers between the ages of 16 to 24 as a Home Visitor. She later served as a Program Manager for an Early Head Start/Head Start program in Northern Virginia in which she implemented the Inclusion Model program to ensure that children identified with disabilities received special education services while working in collaboration with the Head Start program. Nicole diversified her skill sets as she continued in her career serving as a Contracts Analyst for nearly 10 years in which she monitored and provided technical assistance to nonprofit organization's. In 2014, Nicole returned to Chicago, IL and served as a Supervisor of Children Services Programs providing oversight of the City of Chicago's Child Care Assistance Program. In 2020, Nicole began working with the City of Chicago's Children Services Division serving as the team lead for the Health Services Content Area. Nicole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from Grambling State University in 1996, she went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in Social Work from Howard University in 2000 and she earned a second Master of Arts degree in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University in 2003.